Traditional construction methods make it very difficult to install and remodel bathrooms, and in particular, to install and remodel tubs and showers. Tiling a bathroom shower in a custom shower installation takes a great deal of time, skill and patience, using methods of on-site fabrication that have changed little over several decades. The process is very labor intensive, slow and is an imperfect process due to leveling issues created by settling, misalignment and unleveled floors and walls in existing construction.
Using conventional methods, construction of a home bathroom or a remodel first comprises a shell of 2×4 framing. To this frame, waterproof building paper followed by a cement wallboard is anchored to the wall by mechanical fasteners. These fasteners penetrate directly through the waterproof building paper and the cement wallboard, creating potential leak hazards. Problems causes by leaks and cracks do not show up until years after the work is completed. The principal such problem being the growth of mold caused by water leaks in cracks in the tile, or in the joints between tiles, which allow mold to grow in the wallboard under the tile. In these cases, the water intrusion is primarily due to movement of the house caused by settling and natural expansion and contraction of the building materials as the seasons pass and/or improperly installed tile and water-proofing.
Further, to the cement wallboard, hundreds of individual tiles are cemented with each joint being grouted to prevent water intrusion behind the wall board. Presently, several days are required to fully tile a tub or shower enclosure. Where mosaic patterns or designs are desired, or where the location of the project is not in close proximity to a suitable area to place and saw time, the length of time required to finish the tile installation increases substantially. As such, installing or remodeling a new shower or tub can take several weeks, during which time the homeowner is left without the use of his or her bathroom, creating a separate problem for the homeowners.
Further, many problems exist with traditional on-site tiling of shower and bath enclosures. Most new homes are framed with “green” lumber, which often have moisture content as high as 70%. This lumber eventually dries out and the moisture content is reduced to under 20% depending upon local conditions. During this process the lumber slowly begins to twist and bow. Therefore, in conditions where the underlying cement wallboard is secured directly to the framing members, (i.e. the 2×4 studs). The wallboard will bow or flex as the 2×4 studs move. This movement of the underlying wall board causes cracks to form in the tiles and grout joints and, in some instances, the tiles will loosen and fall off. In either case, the risk of moisture penetrating these cracks and causing damage to the home is greatly increased and greatly increases the potential for leaks and mold. Furthermore, the current method of installation for heavy glass enclosures is also laborious and adds problems. It is only after the tile installation is complete that the glass can be measured and ordered. This is due to the imprecise methods of tile setting currently used and the fact that the glass panels must fit with strict tolerances. When anchoring the hardware, (consisting of a combination of hinges, clips, U-channels or headers) the installer must drill all the way through the tile, compromising the waterproofing and risking cracking the tile.
Further, once installed, it is difficult to access the wall area behind the tile without demolishing the existing wall. Needs often arise for accessing the area behind the wall. For example, for purposes of changing or repairing fixtures, access behind the tile walls is often times necessary. This requires partially demolishing the existing tile wall and then replacing the destructed area. Demolition is also needed to update or change the ornamental tile appearance or to replace the tub. Thus, traditional installations methods create a closed environment that make access behind the wall panels virtually impossible without demolishing at least a portion of the existing structure and remodeling the structure once the repair or update is complete.
Yet another problem existing when the remodel requires the inclusion of a heavy unit or subunit, such as a heavy glass door. In this case, the heavy unit or subunit may need to be mounted directly to the studs to support the load of the unit. In some cases, additional framing behind the wall is required to support the heavier structures. Thus, in addition to demolition, framework is sometimes also required to support the load of the remodeled system or unit.
Numerous attempts have been made to avoid this labor intensive task of tiling bathrooms. The most successful to date are likely those where bathtubs and/or showers with approximately ⅔ height walls are prefabricated from fiberglass, sheet molding compound or like materials. These prefabricated shower and/or bath installations are typically made in an offsite facility and are shipped to the job site for installation. Though less costly than a custom tile installation, prefabricated shower/bath units of the type described are less aesthetically pleasing than a tiled installation, and because they are typically made from hand laid fiberglass in a mold are themselves still fairly labor intensive to install. Additionally, the fiberglass tub and shower surrounds do not provide enough support to install heavy glass frameless showers.
As may be seen, there remains a need in the art for a system that reduces or eliminates the time and cost associated with water-proofing and tiling shower and/or bathtub walls in bathrooms and any other room or structure where tiles are desired. A need further exists for wall installation method and system that allows one to create perfectly plumb, perfectly square walls out of an imperfect structure. A further need exists for system that is waterproof, adaptable, interchangeable and capable of allowing access to the wall area behind the tile panels without compromising the integrity of the structure or requiring extensive remodeling to gain access to the area behind the tile. A further need exists for a system that allows for movement of the studs and flooring without compromising the integrity of the system or cracking the tiles or grout. Yet another exists for a system that permits the unit to be updated quickly and easily, without great expense or remodel. A cost effective, inexpensive, easily installable, interchangeable wall mount system is needed for construction in locations, such as in a bathroom shower.